Last week, I received an email asking if interval training was a good way to improve speed in your military PFT run. The answer is absolutely. “But what exactly is interval training and how do I determine what speed I should train?” the question continued. There are some general formulas that can help you determine where you should be, but I ...

Stew Smith CSCS, former Navy SEAL Joins Forces with FireLink.com as fitness advisor / writer. I am pleased to start writing a fitness column for FireLink.com that will enable me to communicate with firefighters on a regular basis, but also, I hope to assist our Heroes of Tomorrow and today with maintaining their fitness level and career longevity. It is an ...

Let's face it - if you want to buy brand name anything, you have to be willing to dig a little deeper into your pockets. But in the current economic downturn, people are pinching pennies where ever they can to, you know, eat and stuff. If supplements are already part of the budget that you're trying to maintain, you can still ...

This is not a long article on swiftwater rescue, but a short reminder that Hurricane season is upon us. This year is predicted to be a very busy one, which could have an effect on us all. Our Team spent our June Training brushing up on our swiftwater skills. The following week, tropical storm Alberto dropped almost record amounts of rain, ...

This week, I received an email from an Army Soldier who was having a difficult time running a few months ago. His breathing patterns were so erratic that he was basically hyperventilating while running his two mile PFT run. Once he started breathing properly as well as exhaling FULLY, he was able to perform better in the run – not only ...

Nearly on a daily basis, people young and old confide in me with their fitness goals. Too many of these goals are extremely broad and lack focus and many are too narrow in scope and require more elements to succeed. For example, broad goals are “getting healthy again” or “losing weight”. These can require some to stop over-eating, smoking, drinking soda ...

We all are susceptible to lower back injuries– military, law enforcement, advanced athlete, beginning exerciser, or sedentary person – we all get back injuries of some sort. The back injuries seen most in doctor’s offices and chiropractic clinics world wide involve the lower back / hip region and can occur from a variety of different causes. According to Dr. Steve Erle ...

Every year after a few months of decreased running due to winter months, I receive emails from people who are starting to ache after only a few days of running. Typically, if you take off for more than 2-3 months from a regular running routine, chances are when you start again you will start off “where you left off” and actually ...

I first would like to share some information that all Instructors like to hear from classes they have taught. Several weeks back, I taught a heavy truck rescue class at the Cooper’s Fire Department in Nash County. On Friday of the following week, I received a phone call from Assistant Chief Jamie Moss, in reference to a motor vehicle crash that ...

When you read this we will be hopefully moving into the fall and out of a tremendously hot and dry summer. Since I can’t predict the future, which would be nice, I hope we have experienced some rain to bring our water levels back up to normal. Writing this in August, I am not going to make a hurricane prediction, but ...

*Computer Mapping in the 21st Century* Computers have become a major player in our lives over the past 10 years, and the ability to keep up with the technology lies only with those who can upgrade their computers several times a year. Unfortunately, most of us in public safety are still hoping to upgrade from two years ago. Email has become ...

Each year fire claims the lives of 4,000 Americans, injures 20,000, and causes billions of dollars worth of damage. People living in rural areas are more than twice as likely to die in a fire than those living in mid-sized cities or suburban areas. The misuse of wood stoves, portable space heaters and kerosene heaters are especially common risks in rural ...

I foresee a set of kettlebells in every firehouse! I could end the article there and call it a day, or I could go into endless reasons why I feel this way, and how every firefighter that took part in the program would benefit. Don't Americans already know how to get in shape? There seems to be no shortage of super ...